Whatever happened to relaxing on the weekend?

When we became parents, I don't think we realized that the nature of weekends would change so drastically. Prior to becoming parents, we had the commitments on the weekend. However, we usually made sure that we didn't have commitments every weekend. At least once a month, we had NOTHING PLANNED. Ah, those were the days!

While much of K's early childhood is now a blur for me, recent years clearly involved planned activities of one variety or another virtually every weekend. Currently, K is signed up for tennis and swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. We also usually attend church several Sundays each month, and some other church activity at least once a month. None of this is inherently bad. However, I miss a basic day of leisure now and then.

I think we might actually have one coming up soon: the day after Thanksgiving. We currently have no commitments. Everyone is off from work/school. I am thinking that I will resist any attempts to schedule anything. We can sleep late. Do whatever comes to mind (definitely avoid any shopping areas, it being one of the biggest shopping days of the year). This will be Family Leisure Day.

Since I was raised an only child, I also crave large blocks of alone time. Sadly, I rarely get them. I love my family. However, I also REALLY like being alone. But, this year, I am getting one of THE best Xmas presents ever. Three days all to myself. B and K are going to Texas for Xmas weekend to see my in-laws new house, and to celebrate my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. I decided not go. While I enjoy my in-laws immensely, I do not fly very well. First off, I suffer from severe motion sickness. Secondly, I am very afraid of flying. That said, I seriously considered taking this trip. It sounded like fun, and it would be cool to see everyone for the holiday's and the birthday celebration. I planned on getting massive drugs to deal with my flying issues. Then my back pain started flairing up big time recently. And, it made me realize that I probably would not do well spending five to seven hours on airplanes in the course of a day. And, the one thing that makes it tolerable for me to sit for very long, my TENS unit, probably wouldn't be allowed on the plan due to security concerns (I might use it as a weapon to hijack the plane). So, I decided that I wasn't going.

We're planning a family trip to the Baltimore-Washington area for April. K and B will probably be flying for that one. I won't be. I will be taking the train. I love train travel. Yes, it will take the better part of a day. However, on a train, I can freely get up and walk around. The seats are a bit roomier too. Plus, there's a train station at BWI airport, so we can coordinate our travel to arrive at relatively the same time. That will be very cool. Now, only if I could be sure that I'll still have a job then, I'd be a very happy camper. But, I'll save that concern for another post (or perhaps one-on-one emails with inquiring minds).